Facebook just updated its mobile app for the iPhone with support for its new Timeline-based profile page. In this article, Facebook for Grown-Ups author Michael Miller walks you through how Timeline looks and works on your iPhone, including how to display personal information, view photos, access friends lists, like and comment on posts, and make new posts from your own Timeline page.

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Have you checked out Facebook’s new Timeline yet? This is Facebook’s latest addition to your personal Profile page, and arranges all your status updates and events on a chronological timeline.

Facebook has also rolled out this new Timeline feature for users of its iPhone mobile app. The version of the Timeline you see on your iPhone differs somewhat from the one you see in your PC’s web browserbut it’s equally as innovative as the desktop version.

Understanding Facebook’s Timeline

The latest addition to your Facebook Profile page is the Timeline. Before the rise of the Timeline, your Profile page displayed a bit of personal information and your most recent status updates, and that’s about it. Your new Profile page, with Facebook’s Timeline view, displays a lot more information about you, in a much different format.

The Timeline displays all your Facebook activity, in reverse chronological order. This includes all the status updates you’ve made, photos and videos you’ve uploaded, you name it. In addition to displaying all the stuff you’ve posted, your Timeline also includes activities and events you’ve entered into your Facebook profile. This includes things like when you born, when you graduated from high school, when you worked at a particular company, and so forth (see Figure
1).

Figure 1 The new Profile Page and Timeline in the web version of Facebook.

Facebook announced the new Timeline view back in August 2011, and started rolling it out to web users in December 2011. At the same time, Facebook released version 4.1 of its mobile app for the Apple iPhone, which adds the Timeline view, in addition to several other new features. If you’re not yet seeing Timeline view on your iPhone, update your Facebook app now.

(Also new in the 4.1 update is improved photo uploading and viewing, access to Facebook’s new friends lists and subscriptions, and better overall performance. It’s definitely worth updating for.)